Coin controlled vending machine



Nov. 21, 1939. RE. BAKER COIN CONTROLLED VENDING MACHINE Filed Aug. 18, 1938 INVENTOR. .is GV'Z 58 Gr,- BY 7 ATTORNEYJ edge.

Patented Nov. 21, 1939 UNITED STATES ATENIT "or-rice 6 Claims. (crass- 1 My invention relates to improvements in dispensing apparatus and particularly to apparatus for dispensing bottled beverages.

It has for one of its objects that of providing a locking means for maintaining a series of closure members for beverage dispensing apparatus and the like in closed position, which locking means may be manipulated for the selection of any one of a number of closures to be opened and which when selectively movedto a predetermined position maybe manipulated through the medium of a coin operated mechanism for releasing that particular closure member.

For the purpose of disclosing the invention, I have illustrated an embodiment'thereof in the accompanying. drawing,in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan 'view of a beverage dispensing container embodying my'invention;

Fig. 2'is a detail sectional view of the locking mechanism taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; I

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing more particularly the means for moving the locking means into locking position.

In the embodiment illustrated, I provide a suitable container I having a plurality of dispensing compartments, each of which is closed by a closure top 2. The container may take any desired form, although. in the embodiment illustrated, the structure is adapted particularly for dispensing bottled beverages and the container I is preferably providedwith a refrigerating compartment beneath the top adapted to contain bottled beverage for dispensation. Each of the covers or closures 2 is hinged as at 3 at one end and at its free end is adapted to rest ona longitudinally extending center bar 4. Each of the covers is adapted to project below the center bar 4 and is provided with a locking slot 5 in its free A pair of locking bars 6 are slidably supported on cross bars I secured at each end of the center member 4 and these locking bars, when in their projected position are adapted to engage in the locking slots in the edges of the closure members 2 so that all of the closures will be locked on the underside.

In addition to the locking bars 6, I provide,-on the top of the casing, a flexible locking member 8 preferably in the form of a sprocket chain adapted to travel over the sprockets 9 and Ill mounted respectively on shafts II and I2 supported at each end of the bar 4. This sprocket chain is provided with a plurality of stops I3 which project transversely therefrom over the 2I is manipulated to move the chain to another inner edge of the closures 2. At one point, these projections I3 are spaced apart as at I4 a distance equal to the width of one closure so that wheneverthe chain 8 is rotated with the spacing I4 coincident with any one of the closures 2 this particular closure may be'raised, so far as any blocking effect of the chain lock is concerned.

The locking bars 6 are moved inwardly from locking position and; outwardly into locking position, in parallelism, through the medium of pairs of toggle links I5 and I6 pivotally connected at their outer ends I! respectively with the lockingbars 6. The inner ends of these links are connected together by a pivot pin I8 which,'in turn,

- is connected to a slide manipulator I9 supported on a longitudinally extending stationary bar 20 beneath the locking bars 6.

The chain 8 is driven from the sprocket III by a crank arm 2| mounted on the shaft I2 and on the bottom end of thisshaft I2 there is mounted a cross cam 22 which is so related to the crank arm 2| that when the crank arm is rotated to a position to coincide the blank space in the teeth I3 with any one of the covers, the cam 22 will lie transversely relatively to the center member 5 4 and in a position to permit the slide manipulator I9 to be moved toclose the toggle links I 5 and I6 and thereby retract the locking bars from looking position. As soon, however, as the crank position, the cam member 22 will strike the cross to straighten out the links I5 and I6 to thereby move the locking bars back into locking position.

The slide bar I9 is provided with an upwardly rod 23 of the slide bar I9,moving this slide bar extending lip 23' which is in the path of a strike rod 24. This strike rod is mounted upon and operated by the slide handle 25 of a coin controlled device 26 and the lip 23 is so mounted relatively to the strike rod 24 that when the coincontrolled handle 25 is moved to the left, to its extreme position, looking at Fig. 1, the slide rod I9 will be moved to operate the toggles I5 and I6 to withdraw the locking members 6. The handle 25, however, may be moved to the right, looking at Fig. 1, without in any way afiecting the slide rod I9. This slide rod is moved to its re-. tracted position by the operation of the cam 22 when the crank arm M is rotated to position the spaced portion of the stop chain opposite another closure.

The operation of the device is obvious. With the coin controlled handle 25 in itsretracted-position, the operator rotates the crank 2| to position the spaced portion of the stop chain 8 opposite any selected closure. With the spaced portion opposite any selected closure, the cam 22 is rotated to a position to permit the slide l9 to be moved. Upon the insertion of a coin in the coin controlled device 26 and the manipulation of the coin controlled'handle 25, a slide I9 through the strike rod 24 in the lip 23 may be moved to a position to withdraw all of the locking bars 6 from locking position, thereby releasing, so far as the locking bars are concerned, all of the covers. Due to the fact that the opening of the covers is prevented by the stop fingers I3 except the one cover i which coincides with the spaced portion I4, none of the covers, with the exception of the one selected cover, may be opened. After the Withdrawal of the contents of the compartment controlled by the selected cover, the cover may be again closed and upon the movement of the chain 8 to position the blank spot I4 coincident with another cover, the cam 22 will restore the slide I!) to its normal position, at the same time moving the. handle back to its full retracted position, if the handle has not been so moved by the operator. 7

It is obvious that the devicecannot be manipulated after the opening of one cover without the insertion of another coin, because as soon as the, as above explained, chain is rotated to free another cover, the slide member !9 will be moved to restore the coin controlled handle 25 to its initial position, at which position, as is the case of most of thecoin controlled mechanisms now on the market, it will be locked, be-

:ing manipulated only by the insertion of another.

coin. I

I claim asmy invention:

1-. The combination with a plurality of 010- sures, of a primary locking means common to all of said closures, a secondary locking means movable to selectively release any one of said closures, and means for operating said primary locking means to release all of said closures after said secondary means has been moved to its selected position.

2. The combination with a plurality of closure members, of a primary locking means common to all of said closures, a secondary looking means movable to selectively release any one of said closures, means for operating said primary locking means to release all of said closures, and means operated by said secondary locking means for preventing the operation of said primary locking means except when said secondary locking means is moved to release a selected closure.

3. The combination with a plurality of closures, a primary locking means and a secondary locking means, said secondary locking means being movable to selectively release only one at a time of said closures, means for operating said primary locking means to release all of said closures upon the movement of said secondary operating means for releasing any one of a selected closure, and means operated by the movement of said secondary operating means after a selected closure has been released to selectively release another closure for restoring said primary locking means to its locking position.

4. The combination with a plurality of closures, of a primary locking means common to all of-said closures, a secondary locking means movable to selectively release any one of said closures, coin controlled means for operating said primary locking means to release all of said closures after the secondary means has been moved to its selected position, and means for restoring said coin controlled means to its initial locking position operated by the movement of said selected secondary locking means. I

5. The combination with a plurality of closure members, of a primary locking means common to all of said closures, a secondary locking means movable to selectively release any one of said closures, means for 7 operating said primary locking means to release said closures after said secondary means has been moved to a selective releasing position, and means for restoring said primary locking means to its looking position by the movement of the secondary locking means to another selected releasing position.

6. The combination with a plurality of closures arranged in pairs disposed oppositely and facing one another, a pair of locking rods, toggle links adapted to spread said locking rods into locking position, a selective locking means movable to release any selected one of said closures, and coin controlled means adapted to operate saidtoggle links to retract said locking bars to release all of said closures.

ROBERT E. BAKER. 

